Psychology
Voyager 1’s famous Pale Blue Dot photograph was nearly never taken
On February 14, 1990, six billion kilometers from the sun, Voyager 1 swiveled around and took a photograph of Earth.
Science & Engineering
Many astronauts describe a quiet realization when they look down at Earth from orbit
NASA astronaut Christina Koch, a NASA astronaut selected for the Artemis II crew, has perhaps the cleanest description of what she sees from the cupola of the International Space Station.
Human Behaviour
The modern 8-hour workday is usually traced to Robert Owen, a Welsh industrialist…
Many of us live inside the 8-hour box without ever asking where the box came from.
Human Behaviour
Anthropologist Marshall Sahlins called early hunter-gatherer societies "the…
The American anthropologist Marshall Sahlins defined affluence not as a satisfaction of wants.
Human Factors
Modern retirement was invented in 1889 by a 74-year-old German Chancellor named…
An American who reaches 65 today can expect, on average, to live roughly another 18 to 20 years.
Human Behaviour
Why are so many of us still awake at midnight watching something we don’t even care…
I am not a psychologist or sleep specialist. This piece draws on published research but is not a substitute for professional advice.
Science & Engineering
The international space station has had continuous human presence for over…
What do you imagine is responsible for keeping a human being functional during six months in one of the most extreme environments our species has ever visited?
Human Factors
NASA astronaut Doug Wheelock said the thing he missed in orbit was the smell of…
The International Space Station is sealed, filtered, and controlled — and astronauts have described its smells as antiseptic, garbage-like, or metallic.
Science & Engineering
The international space station runs on a five-day work and two-day rest schedule…
In the final weeks of 1973, three astronauts aboard NASA's Skylab space station were struggling.
Human Factors
Astronaut Chris Hadfield says confidence on the ISS didn't come from optimism
A navigator plotting a course does not spend the whole voyage imagining the smooth water ahead.
Human Factors
NASA's playbook for staying intact through long isolation
At NASA, a scientist named Tom Williams leads the Human Factors and Behavioral Performance work inside NASA's Human Research Program.
Psychology
Psychology suggests stargazing might be better for us than we realize
Step outside on a clear night in rural Ireland and the sky is just there. No app to open, no announcement, no preamble.
Human Factors
Why do we explore, anyway
When I was twenty-something and working in a corporate job, I started looking at the people who were ten and fifteen years ahead of me on the ladder.
Human Factors
Why Chris Hadfield argues that fear is a knowledge problem, and how we might apply…
"Okay, I can't see, but I can hear, I can talk, Scott Parazynski is out here with me.
Human Factors
The quiet freedom of routine
I’ve been reading lately about how astronauts live, and the thing that has stayed with me isn’t the gear or the spacewalks.
Human Factors
The astronaut-inspired sleep rules that quietly transformed my nights
The way my evening looks these days: by nine or ten, the overhead lights in the living room are off, replaced by a single warm-toned lamp in the corner.